The Familiar Poison
by redsandman99
Summary: Upset by the callous reveal of the nature of their relationship, AJ wants to put Punk behind her. Moving on though isn't easy when neither party is actually ready to do so.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: Yes I know I have other stories to update and I do want and plan to eventually get to them. Between health issues with myself and my family and general life suckitude I've been having a pretty bad writer's block. Last night's segment with AJ, Punk and Heyman though did inspire this. So hopefully it don't suck too bad.**

**...**

"AJ! AJ!" She heard his voice long before he even got to her door. AJ Lee's head snapped up at the voice, her heart managing to both skip a beat in her chest while sinking down to her stomach. After what had happened in the ring earlier he was the last person she wanted to deal with. There was no possible way to escape though. She could hear his footseps coming closer and closer. There was no time for her to escape. So she braced herself, silently cursing herself for not letting Kaitlyn and Derrick stay with her. They had offered to do so but she had waved them off, telling them they could use the time together. Now she had nobody to save her or keep her from killing him. And she wasn't being figurative with that. She felt like she could literally kill him at the moment.

"AJ!" Without even knocking Phil just burst in, slamming the door shut behind him. "Did you SEE what just happened? Did you just watch what fucking happened to me?"

Cocking her head slightly to the left, AJ let a smirk cross her lips. "Are you talking about Cena hitting you with the pipe or Ryback punking you out-no pun intended there?"

If looks could kill the one he gave her right there would have made her die a thousand times over. "Cena just ATTACKED me with that pipe-"

"Nothing less than you deserved." AJ grabbed her bag and slung it over her shoulder. "Now if you'll excuse me-"

"Oh no no no no no." He let her think for a second that she was going to get away before grabbing her bag and using it to pull her back in front of him. "You don't get to walk away from me. Don't you ever think that you can just walk away from me."

"Why not?" She slipped her arm out away from her bag and let him take it, which he just dropped down to the floor. "It's what you want isn't it? Me out of your way?"

"Not when I'm talking to you." The hand that had had her bag went to her shoulder, grabbing it firmly to keep her in place. "You don't ever walk away from me when I'm talking to you." He leaned down, putting his face just inches from hers. "Do you understand me?"

"Get your hands OFF me," AJ growled. She slapped his hand away and took a step back. Her shoulder was actually sore from where he grabbed her but she wouldn't let that show. He already had a smug enough look on his face as it was. She hated him for it. She hated this monster he had turned into. This obsession with respect and his growing reign as champ had turned him into a completely different person. He wasn't the same Phil she had fallen for just a few short months ago. She hated this person. She hated him just as much as she still...no. She wouldn't even let herself go there.

"What's the matter sweetheart?" He was laughing at her. The son of a bitch was actually laughing at her. "Since when did you decide you didn't like my hands on you?" He leaned in even closer so their noses were practically touching. She could feel his hot breath on her lips, cementing her to the spot. "I remember when you couldn't get enough of my hands." He reached up with his left hand and tucked a piece of hair behind her ear. "My hands all over your body." His right hand went up to her shit, his fingers lightly trailing down her shirt. He wasn't actually touching her but it made her breath catch inside her throat anyway. "I remember when you burned for my touch." His hand drifted to the hem of her shirt, his smirk growing even bigger. "Every inch of you screamed for me..." His hand started to drift over her shorts and she slapped it away yet again.

"No." Shaking her head she placed both hands on his chest and pushed him back.

"No?" He sounded so condescending. "Why not?"

"You think I want you now? After what you pulled earlier?"

"I bet you would want me if I even showed you half the affection that I used to."

"I bet you'd be a lot nicer if I even hinted at wanting to cuddle." She smirked as his own smirk turned into a scowl. "The big bad CM Punk is a cuddler." She stepped back up to him, getting up on her toes so she could get in his face. He was always crossing personal boundary lines with her (and in the ring at that) so why couldn't she do it to him? She didn't see any reason not to. "And you know what they say: you don't cuddle with someone you don't care about."

"Or maybe I just wanted you to think I cared." His tone was purely defensive. It was such bullshit and they both knew it. He was the one that held her at night. The one that didn't want to let go in the morning. He could hide from it as much as he wanted but it didn't change the facts at the end of the day. He couldn't take back anything he had done, just like she couldn't. All those dirty texts and voicemails…that he had clearly shown Paul Heyman and she wanted to kill him for it. Those had been for HIM. She had never sent anyone stuff like that before, not even Bryan.

"And maybe I just wanted you to think you were the best in the world." Lolling her head around she tried once again to leave. The second she brushed past him though he grabbed her arm, yanking her back violently. "OW!"

"I _am_ the best in the world. I'm the best in your demented little world. Better than Primo, better than Bryan, better than Kane-"

"How many times have I told you that I didn't sleep with Kane?" She tried to yank her arm free but his grip was too strong.

"Bullshit!" He grabbed her other arm and pushed her back into the wall, pinning her there.

"Fuck you it's not bullshit." Her breathing was becoming heavier and more erratic as he pressed himself up against her. He was doing it to get a rise out of her. Quite a few of her voicemails included fantasy confessions, one of which was mighty similar to this. She had told him in explicit detail of a dream she had of him throwing her against a wall and pinning her hands up above her head as he fucked her brains out. He had done it before…quite a few times…if that was what he was looking for now though she didn't want it. Her head didn't want it anyway. Her body still did. She had little to no control when it came to him. "Who are you trying to convince with this best in the world stuff anyway? Me or yourself?"

"I don't need to convince anyone. You and I both know it's true." He pressed his forehead to hers, his lips so close to hers that if she moved her head just even the littlest bit they would touch. "You've never had it as good as me."

"Whatever you need to tell yourself sweetie." She wouldn't admit that he was right. She couldn't. That's what he wanted and with the way he was acting he would just use it against her. All this he was doing right now was part of his mind games. He wanted something from her. An advantage. He needed one over someone. He couldn't get it over Cena. Certainly wasn't going to get it over Ryback. Even if he kicked the crap out of Mick a hundred times over the Hardcore Legend had his number. That left her that he thought he could play. And maybe he could. There were still feelings there. Feelings for him that wouldn't go away. Once she fell for someone she fell hard even if they were shitty to her. She had proven that with Bryan and she was proving it again here and now.

"AJ…_sweetheart_" his voice oozed sarcasm with that word "you're the one needing to tell yourself stuff. You think suddenly acting like you're so tough and I'm the one who's deluding myself that I'm gonna buy that?" One hand held her wrists above her head while his hand rand down her front again, drifting down to play with the waistband of her shorts. "I know I've made you scream in ways dear Danny boy never did. Nobody knows your body like I do."

"Phil…" Her eyes widened as his hand started to slip down her shorts. "Phil!" The moment his fingertips grazed her panties she brought her knee up, catching right between the legs. "God DAMN it!" She slapped him hard across the face and slipped out from between him and the wall, backing herself up towards the door.

"FUCK me…" Phil doubled over and held a hand over his crotch, panting for breath. He looked over at her, opening his mouth to say something but then just closing it once more. Maybe what he had been about to do had sunk in on him and he realized he was wrong…hopefully anyway. She wasn't exactly planning to bet on it.

"Stay away from me." She grabbed her bag and slung it over her shoulder, not taking her eyes off him for a second. "Or your ass will be unemployed faster than you can blink."

"It's you that won't stay away from me," he snapped, straightening himself back up. "You come to me first…you always come first."

That had more than a little innuendo attached to that statement. Huffing in disgust, AJ grabbed the lamp that was nearby and chucked it at his head. He ducked and it smashed into the wall as she exited the room, letting the door slam with a thunderous thud behind her.


	2. Chapter 2

"Dude he did WHAT?" Kaitlyn's voice spiked so loudly that AJ had to wince and put her hands up to her ears. She had met up Kaitlyn and Derrick in their hotel room and instead of sleeping like they should have, Derrick was on his way back with some Taco Bell and AJ and Kaitlyn had found some late night cartoons on. Kaitlyn had her injured ankle propped up on some pillows and AJ was curled up next to her, a Batman comic laying open but unread nearby. AJ hadn't exactly meant to confess what had happened with Phil but Kaitlyn had saw right through her and forced her to spill the beans. "What the _hell_ is wrong with him?"

AJ shrugged and pulled her legs up to her chest so she could rest her chin on her knees. "He was just pissed off about what happened-"

"That doesn't give him the right to stick his hand down your pants against your will." Kaitlyn grabbed both of AJ's shoulders and made her look her in the eyes. "You have got to report him."

"He didn't really TOUCH me," AJ said as she tried to shrug Kaitlyn's hands off her. "He stopped-"

"When you hit him. You shouldn't have to be smacking the crap to make him stop. Hell you're lucky he didn't keep trying. You can have him fired for attempted rape or at least sexual harassment."

"That'll just blow everything up. They won't fire him. Vince is desperate for stars and he won't let him fall into TNA's hands. Hell they'll more likely get rid of me than get rid of him. Look at how many women Orton got away with harassing. They'll de-push him at best and even that won't last. Me making his life a living hell is a better punishment."

Kaitlyn didn't exactly look convinced with that explanation. "Don't tell me you're just trying to protect him. Please please please don't even justify his behavior. I don't want this to be another Daniel situation."

"It's not like that," AJ said defensively. "Really."

Kaitlyn still wasn't convinced. "When did you guys even start sleeping together? I'm like majorly confused about that."

AJ shifted around a bit uncomfortably. "It uh...it started at No Way Out...

_Rubbing her back as she walked, AJ made her way through the locker room hallways. She had just escaped from Kane and the trainers. It hadn't been as easy as she would have liked it to be. The trainers had been all over her despite the fact that her fall was far from the worst one she had ever taken. Add in Kane standing guard like a faithful watchdog and she had to use going to the bathroom as an excuse to leave. Now she was on the hunt for Phil, who had managed to win just like she had hoped. She had tried to stay in the back to let him handle it but it had finally become too much for her. Her intention had been to help Punk and it had worked beautifully. Whatever she felt for Daniel and Kane, she couldn't in her heart bear to see anyone else win._

_Coming to a stop in front of his dressing room door, she hesitated for a moment before knocking on the door. "Punk?" She grabbed the doorknob and gave it a twist, finding it to be unlocked. "Punk?" She just let herself in and found him sitting on the bench in the center of the room. He had his title belt in his hands, which he had been staring at until she had come in._

_"AJ." He set the title belt aside and got up to his feet. He hadn't changed out his ring gear yet. His body was coated with sweat still, gleaming under the light. AJ's eyes drifted over him, her tongue darting across her lips before quickly looking back up. she could tell he had caught her staring at him. It was hard to tell if he looked more amused or flattered. Her cheeks turned red and she let out a nervous giggle._

_"Are you um...are you okay?"_

_"I should be asking you that one." Phil rubbed the back of his neck. "You took a little fall there."_

_"Yeah. I'm fine though."_

_"You sure?" He tilted his head to the side and stepped closer so he could look her over for himself._

_"Mhm!" AJ nodded, her actions even more exaggerated than they would have been normally. Her heart was fluttering inside her chest and she was finding it hard to stay still. His gaze was absolutely piercing. She had already admired his eyes but she hadn't truly realized just how intense his stare could be until now. "It wasn't as bad as it looked."_

_"Well that's good." He gave her another once over and smiled lightly. "I was uh, actually expecting to see you sooner in the match. I think everyone was."_

_"I think I timed my entrance pretty well."_

_"Yeah. Just in time for me to shove Kane into you." Shaking his head he gave her an apologetic look. "I am sorry for that. I didn't see you-"_

_"It's okay," she assured him._

_"No it's not," he insisted. "You could have really got hurt."_

_"But I'm not." She stepped a little closer, wanting to touch him but keeping her hands together to resist the urge. "I'm okay. Really Punk, I'm fine."_

_"Are you sure?"_

_"Yeah." She couldn't stop the huge grin that crossed her face. He was so concerned with her well being. He wasn't just faking it like Daniel did. He had no idea what that actually meant to her. She didn't even think she could accurately describe it._

_"Okay." If he was still skeptical he just let it go. "If you're sure."_

_"Yeah." She stepped even closer to him, getting up on her toes to give him a quick kiss on the lips. "Thank you."_

_He cocked an eyebrow up. "You help me and I get the thank you?"_

_"You're sweet."_

_"I think you're the only one that's ever thought that."_

_"But you are."_

_"I think you really are crazy." Before she could respond he leaned down and kissed her himself. Her eyes widened in surprise but she didn't pull away. She just let him kiss her, almost disappointed when he pulled away._

_"What was that for?"_

_"That was my thank you." He wasn't breaking the distance between them. Instead he tucked a piece of her hair behind her ear before letting his hands rest on her waist. They stared at each other, the tension between them growing thicker by the second. She grabbed on to his shoulders and jumped up, locking her legs around his waist as they kissed once more. She couldn't tell who leaned into it first and it really didn't matter. His lips were on hers, kissing her slower and deeper than they had before. His hands moved from her waist to her butt to help support her, squeezing lightly to make her moan into his mouth. His tongue slid into her mouth, dueling with hers as she started to roll her hips. He groaned lowly, holding her more tightly as she continued to grind. Their lungs burned for oxygen but neither one was willing to break the kiss. This was what she had been wanting for the past month and judging from the growing bulge she could feel pressing against her, he was wanting it just as much._

_"AJ..." He finally had to break the kiss so they could breathe. They panted and stared at each other, Phil sneaking in another quick kiss before putting her down._

_"What's the matter?" she asked almost fearfully._

_He shook his head. "Not here." He set her down on her own two feet so he could grab his belt and shove it in his bag. "Hotel room. Let's go."_

"...Wow that was sexy."

AJ and Kaitlyn both nearly jumped out of their skin as they turned to see Derrick standing there with the Taco Bell bags in his hand. They had gotten so into talking that they hadn't heard him come back. "How much of that did you hear?" AJ asked, her cheeks already turning beet red.

"Do you really want me to answer that?" Shaking his curly hair out of his face, Derrick walked over to them and surrendered the food.

"...No. Please don't." That probably meant he had heard the whole thing and just hadn't said anything until he had heard his share.

"How long did this even last?" Kaitlyn asked, getting the conversation back on track.

"Well uh, things kind of started falling apart once he rejected my proposal." AJ winced at that painful memory. "The last time we actually slept together was right after Summerslam."

"And not since then?" Kaitlyn prodded.

AJ shook her head.

"This is the part where we tell you to keep it that way," Derrick piped in. He had already stuffed one of his tacos in his mouth so AJ had a hard time making out what he said.

"Oh yeah." Apparently Kaitlyn had no such trouble with deciphering what he was saying. Probably because she was used to it. "He's bad news. He's got that idiot Heyman in his ear though he was turning into an ass before that even. You don't need that. You need someone who'll treat you right."

AJ nodded along. She knew that. That was what everyone had told her. She had heard it when she had been with Daniel and now she would hear it even more because of Phil. Her head told her that they were right. She couldn't keep clinging to the guys that would just hurt her. It just caused her too much pain. As much as she told herself that though, there was only one thing she could really fixate on: the memory of Phil's lips on hers, his hands on her body..._Not good, not good. Bad AJ bad. Stop it stop it stop it..._

...

_Phil had barely gotten his hotel room door open when AJ jumped back on him, giving him sloppy, desperate kisses. He kissed her right back, kicking the door shut behind him and letting his bag fall to the floor. He stumbled right for the bed, not even wanting to waste a second. He had been trying to contain himself the entire ride there. That had been a long enough wait. He dropped her down on to the bed and slipped the hoodie he had put on before they left off. He tossed it aside and slipped off his boots before climbing on to the bed with her She pulled him right back into her kiss, her legs wrapping around his waist once more and her her hands digging into his still slighty sticky back. He grabbed her shirt and literally ripped it away, exposing her red bra from underneath. That came off next and his hands cupped her breasts, squeezing firmly as his lips left hers to travel down to her neck. "Phil," she gasped, arching herself up underneath him. She had grabbed on to his trunks and was trying to pull them down. "Oh god Phil please..."_

_His kissed his way down to her chest, taking each breast into his mouth. His tongue brushed across her nipples while his teeth lightly scraped across her skin. She moaned and arched up even more, practically begging for more._

Phil tried to shake that memory off as he stared out the window. He was in the backseat of Paul's car, being driven to the next town for the house show the next evening. He was supposed to be sleeping but of course that had yet to happen. He rarely slept really. Add in the fact that his confrontation with AJ before he had left was running through his mind and it would be a completely sleepless night. He hadn't told Paul about it, mostly because he knew he had about crossed a line that he had no right to. He doubted very much that she would rat him out, especially since he had stopped once she put her foot down. She would justify not telling on him and most likely just try to get back at him herself. Not that he didn't deserve it. He knew he did. He didn't even know if he would have stopped on his own. He had gone in there just to yell at her...things just spiraled from there. He hadn't even thought about the consequences or anything. That was problem when it came to her. He didn't always think what it was he was doing. He just did things.

_Little sighs and gasps filled the room as he buried his face between her thighs, his tongue exploring every inch of her it could reach. Her legs were draped over his shoulders and her fingers were digging into his hair. His tongue slipped in and out of her, teeth nipping at her clit to drive her extra crazy. Their clothes laid long forgotten on the floor. The sheets were already a tangled mess from her grabbing them at first. This was all moving extremely fast but neither one of them cared. All he cared for was how she tasted. She was so hot, so wet and so sweet; he lifted her hips so he could slide his tongue even deeper inside her. She nearly screamed, gasping his name over and over as she tried to buck her hips wildly. He had to tighten his hold on them so she wouldn't go too crazy and break his nose._

"Fuck," he muttered under his breath. He had to stop thinking about this. It was over. They weren't sleeping together anymore and they shouldn't have even started in the first place. He should have actually started. Sure it gave him something to taunt her with now when he wasn't getting his way but it still bit him in the ass and would probably do so even more in the future. Out of the three guys involved in the love quartet over the summer it was him she had become most fixated on. Bryan she was getting over and Kane…well quite frankly he thought she had just played Kane like a fiddle. He didn't really believe she had slept with the guy. Her fixation on him was nothing compared to her with him. He should have known by the text messages, voice mails and her popping up all over the place to begin with that it would escalate even more once they slept together but he still did it anyway. He hadn't been able to help it. He had tried to steer clear of her at first. Getting involved with his opponent's ex was risky enough business. Adding in her mental instability was icing on that cake. But of course, he hadn't kept her away forever. He did dig crazy chicks and as time went on he started finding something more alluring about her. She wasn't really what he would describe as sexy (well…not until he saw some of the stuff she was willing to do in bed). She looked so innocent. Sweet. Damaged with a _nice dose of demented. And so very devoted to him. It was a combination he couldn't help but get lost in._

_He moved smoothly in and out of her, one hand clasped in hers and the other resting on her hip. His forehead was pressed against hers and his lips hovered barely an inch above hers, kissing her when her moans spiked a little too loud. Her legs had a lock on his waist once again, pushing against him to drive him deeper inside her. Her nails raked down his back slowly, actually drawing a bit of blood. He hissed lowly and kissed her hard for it. Their teeth clicked they were kissing so hard and he sucked and nipped on her lower lip as he thrusted faster. The hand on her hip drifted over between her legs, his fingers lightly teasing her clit to make her gasp and writhe even more underneath him._

"Fuck." He HAD to stop doing this. He shouldn't even be thinking about this. He had to get her out of his mind. They weren't together. She had wanted things out of him way sooner than he was willing to give them. It caused way too much drama which was the last thing he needed. He closed his eyes and slumped down, resting his head against the window so he could try to get some sleep.

"_Phil…" Rolling them over so she was on top, AJ threw her head back and slowly started to ride him. "Oh god Phil!"_

He groaned under his breath. This was going to be a long night.


	3. Chapter 3

Phil walked into the arena with his hoodie pulled up over his head to try to hide his tired, worn face. He hadn't gotten more than a couple of hours of sleep, which meant his mood was about as good as he looked at the moment. Paul was trailing behind him, talking a mile a minute. All of it was going in one ear and out the other though. Phil couldn't concentrate for shit. He just shoved his hands deeper into his pockets and ignored everyone that was looking at him as he walked by. He was more than used to stares like that. He always got them for some reason or another. It had been that way ever since he had walked into the company. He highly doubted it would ever change.

"Locker room or match card?" That was the first thing that Paul said that Phil actually heard.

"Card," Phil replied curtly. Might as well see who he was wrestling before he got settled. After what had happened between him and AJ yesterday he was sure she had something interesting planned for him tonight. She had the power to make things very difficult for him. She had pretty much sent Kane after Daniel Bryan when she got the chance and had driven the both of them even more crazy when she stuck them in anger management. The train wreck that was their tag team was all her fault. Nobody would say it in case she took it the wrong way but it totally was her fault.

The match card was posted in its usual spot and Phil put his finger on it, trailing it down as he read the card. He was on last of course and it was against the Big Show in a lumberjack match. His eyes narrowed. She had to be kidding. Not only was he to be stuck with an angry Big Show but surrounded by a locker room that couldn't stand him. This was bullshit. He looked back at Paul, who didn't look too pleased himself. Fuck this. There was no way he was doing this. Absolutely no way. He didn't care what she said he wasn't going out there. Not in this match. "Fucking little bitch..."

Heyman, who had been in the midst of opening his mouth to say something nasty, quickly tried to grab Phil's arm and stop him from storming off. "Wait wait wait wait wait now..." Shaking his head. "Now I know this isn't fair-"

"Not fair? That's a bit of a fucking understatement don't you think?"

"Which is why you should let me handle it." Starting to panic now, Paul jumped in front of Phil and put his hands on his chest to stop him. "Clearly she has it out for you based on your little uh...relationship if we even want to call it that. You going in there is only going to make things worse. There are murky political waters that you're treading here-"

"I'm not looking to get political." Phil pushed Paul aside and stormed off before he could be stopped again. As much as he respected Paul and welcomed his advice, it wasn't going to do any good to have him try to change AJ's mind. She wasn't going to listen to him. Especially not after that little proposal he pulled. This was something he had to deal with himself.

"Kofi!" He saw Kofi rounding the corner and picked up his pace to catch up with him. "Kofi!"

Kofi stopped and looked up, letting out an audible sigh as he locked eyes. "What man?"

"Where's AJ's office?"

Kofi gave him a suspicious look. "Can't you just leave her alone man? She don't need-"

"Dude I'm serious. Where's her office?" Phil was _not_ in the mood for a lecture.

Kofi pointed to the hallway to his left. "Down there, second to last door on the right. But-"

Phil didn't wait for him to finish. He just walked off, finding Zack Ryder leaving the office just as he got there. He brushed past him without a word and let himself into the room without knocking. AJ, who had just been about to sit down behind her desk, jumped about a foot in the air. "Jesus!" She put a hand over her chest as he shut the door behind him. "Can't you ever _knock_?"

"Can't you ever not stack the deck against me?" He threw his bag down and went up to her as she came around, trapping her back against her desk. "A lumberjack match with Big Show? Really? What kind of crap are you booking here?"

"Well with Cena injured, Bryan and Kane defending their titles and Booker not surrendering Orton this week, I had to do something didn't I?" She tried to push him back so he wasn't violating her personal space so much but he refused to budge. "Believe it or not, putting you versus Big Show is just business. I needed a good match to put on-"

"I'm sorry, when did good matches and Big Show go hand in hand?"

"Quit being an ass."

"I AM an ass. Where have you been lately?"

AJ only huffed in response. Her face looked just as tired as his. It looked like someone else hadn't gotten any sleep last night. Not that Phil cared…no. He didn't even entertain that thought. It was just something worth noting. Maybe he had more of an effect on her than she had let on last night. "Big Show is one of the biggest names this company has. I need a main event and you two are it. It's nothing personal."

"And the lumberjack stipulation?" he prompted. "What about that?"

She had no response for that one. Not at first anyway. Her face was blank for a moment before that crazy smile of hers appeared. There was his answer. The lumberjack thing was to fuck with him. There couldn't be any re-grouping plans for his match tonight because they would just toss his ass back in the ring and probably help kick him around while they were at it. "That's great," he said sarcastically. "Really, that's brilliant." He flipped a piece of her hair back before rapping his knuckles lightly on the top of her head. "Got any more bright ideas in there sweetheart?"

His condescending jab didn't wipe the grin off her face like he intended it to. "Sounds like someone's cranky." She reached up and patted his cheek lightly. "Maybe you should try to get some more sleep."

"I don't ever sleep."

"You always slept just fine when you were with me."

He scowled a bit. The problem with that was that it was actually true. He had gotten more sleep cuddled up next to her. Wasn't something he'd ever admit out loud, much less admit that he kind of missed…no he couldn't even think of that. "You're not looking so hot right now yourself sweetheart." He leaned in real close, his scowl turning into a smirk. "How have you been sleeping at night? Any problems since I'm not there anymore to tire you out?"

"You wish," she sneered. It wasn't as convincing as she tried to make it be. "I actually sleep better now that there's nobody hogging all my covers."

"Yeah well you kick in your sleep."

"You snore."

"You grind your teeth."

"You have horrible morning breath."

"Yours is worst."

"Is not."

"Is too."

"Is not."

"Is too."

"Is not!" The volume of her voice was starting to rise.

"Is too!" His was rising right up to match hers.

"Is not!"

"Is too! That's why I didn't marry you. I didn't want to wake up next to that every morning." Total bullshit statement right there. He just wanted to make her mad.

An absolutely livid look crossed her face. She raised her hand and tried to slap him but he caught her wrist mid-swing. He wrenched it down to her side and grabbed her other arm before she could hit him with that hand. She opened her mouth to say something but was silenced with a hard kiss. It was a total impulse move, one fuled by the previous night's sexual frustration. He fully expected her to knee him in the groin to get him away much like she had yesterday. To his surprise though, she actually kissed him back. She leaned back on her desk and wrapped her legs around him, pulling him closer with them since he still had her arms trapped. It looked like he wasn't the only one suffering from some frustration. He kissed her deeper, pushing her down on to the desk and letting her arms go so his hands could wander over the rest of her body. Her hands went up under his hoodie and the t-shirt he had on underneath, her nails lightly raking over his skin. A light moan escaped him and he pressed himself harder against her. The voice in his brain that should have been telling him not to do this was completely silent. He shouldn't be doing this and she should be pushing him off like she had last night yet here they were. Wasn't exactly surprising. She didn't let go easily and last night hadn't been the only night he had been thinking of her since Summerslam.

"Phil...Phil we can't..." AJ finally managed to gasp out.

"We can," he replied, his mouth latching on to her neck and giving her a good bite.

"You don't want me." It was more of an accusation as opposed to a statement.

"Oh I do…" He bit her neck again and pressed his growing erection harder against her.

She rolled her eyes. "That wasn't what I meant."

"Yet you like it."

"I hate you."

"You love me."

"I hate you," she insisted. She pushed him off and sat up, straightening her clothes and smoothing down her hair. "I'm not your whore."

"You'd rather be my whore than anyone else's anything." He leaned back in but kept himself off her this time. What he wanted to do was fuck her through that desk but he restrained himself. He knew by the way she glanced down that he had hit the nail on the head. It was what made him bold enough to make his next move. "Meet me by my car after the show." He kissed the corner of her mouth and nuzzled her face. "I'll ditch Paul. We'll get a hotel…"

"And then what?" she asked almost bitterly. "We start our little cycle all over again?"

"Maybe this time we'll fuck each other out of our system."

"Yeah. Tell me how well that went when we tried it at Summerslam."

He cringed slightly. He knew she was right with that one. That had been the plan then and it had clearly failed. He couldn't bring himself to admit it though. He wasn't one to just admit defeat even when it was needed. "Just meet me there."

"That a threat?"

"Of course not. You can feel free to bail." He leaned in closer to her ear so he could whisper into it. "I don't have to _force_ you to do anything." Chuckling lightly, he stepped away and left the room without another look at her, fixing his hoodie so it would cover what effect their little encounter had on him. This had to be the end of it. It would be. He meant to this time.


	4. Chapter 4

_"You know, you really are something else."_

_AJ smiled and giggled abit as she tucked a piece of her hair behind her ear. She had caught up with him after his match still dressed in her Kane gear. She hadn't even taken the mask off yet. The moment she had skipped out to the ring to distract Kane was the first time they had seen each other since they had parted ways that morning. He had had a day full of media appearances before the show and had only gotten there in time to get ready for his match. She hadn't had time to seek him out until now. The previous night had replayed itself in her mind over and over again, to the point that the blush in her cheeks was seemingly never going to go away. She was actually glad she had the mask on still. It pretty much hid how bright red her face was._

_Punk cocked his head to the side, looking at her with a mix of amusement and confusion. "Maybe it's just me but I think you look better with my gear on."_

_"I can change," she offered quickly. "I've already got your shirt in my bag."_

_"Of course you do." He glanced up and down the hallway to see if they were alone. Seeing that they were, he took the mask off her and tossed it aside. He gently took her chin with his thumb and pointer finger, still looking at her as if he didn't know what to think. She stared at him with wide eyes, smiling as she waited for him to do something. When he didn't, she leaned up and kissed him first, getting up on her toes so she could wrap her arms around his neck. She had been afraid of some awkwardness between them but all that melted away as he slid his arms around her waist and dipped her back to deepen the kiss._

"Ugh..." Shaking that memory off, AJ continued to pace around the exit door. She usually tried to keep an eye on her show but she was much too distracted to pay the slightest bit of attention to what was happening around her. She had a decision to make. Do the right thing and tell Phil to fuck off or go with him for the night. It should have been an easy decision but of course it wasn't. She had been doing better about staying away from him until now. She shouldn't even be thinking about breaking that streak. Not for a guy that didn't care about her. Or if he did care for her somewhere deep down, he sure as hell wasn't showing it. If that was the case it surely wasn't going to change so why should she even bother? That's what she kept asking herself. She had to keep reminding herself of that because there was an undeniable pull she felt towards Phil. She could deny it all she wanted but that didn't mean it was going away. She didn't even know if it ever would go away. It would be easier if it would. If it would just go away or die down just a little. It would make resisting temptation just a little bit easier.

Sighing she ran a hand through her hair and gripped it tightly. She felt like somebody was watching her though she didn't know who it was. It couldn't be Phil because he was out wrestling at the moment. Heyman was out there with him so it couldn't be him either. She didn't know who it could be and she couldn't even bring herself to take a proper look around. Wasn't like it mattered. She was running out of time to think. Big Show wasn't going to keep Phil occupied forever. It was time to make a decision. Have an inkling of self respect or give in what she would hope to be one last time. From her job's perspective she should definitely say no. It wasn't actually appropriate for her to sleep with one of the wrestlers. Then again, it wasn't like there was an abundance of people that had ever followed that rule. Teddy Long had dated Aksana, Vickie had not only dated Dolph and married Edge but she blatantly favored them over everybody else and abused her powers for their benefit. It wasn't like she'd be doing anything too uncommon. The board of directors didn't care for her being in charge anyway so nothing she was going to do would please them anyway.

"AJ! AJ!"

Jumping a bit, AJ turned around to see Eve standing there with what was supposed to pass as a concerned look on her face. AJ wasn't buying it though. This entire change of attitude Eve had been displaying was a bold face lie. At least she thought it had to be that. Certainly didn't seem genuine at any rate. "What?" she said, not doing a great job at masking her irritation.

Eve definitely noticed but plastered on a great big smile anyways. "How are you holding up?" she asked. "I know that things must be pretty rough on you right now."

"I'm fine," AJ said quickly. "Really."

"Are you sure?" Eve reached out and put a hand on her shoulder. She had changed out of her ring gear and back into the dress she had on when she had arrived, topped off with the glasses she didn't actually need. "You can be honest you know. You don't have to pretend."

"I'm fine," AJ insisted. She stepped back so she could be out of Eve's grasp. "Seriously."

"I hope so." No she didn't. Eve was as big of a liar as one could get. "You looked pretty shaken there yesterday when Phil uh…well he pretty much spilled the beans on you guys." She shook her head and stepped forward to place her hand on AJ's shoulder yet again. "I had no idea that you two-"

"We're not anymore," AJ said. She was really only admitting it to get Eve off her back. It wasn't any of her business anyway. "We're done."

"That's good." Eve's show of support was getting faker by the second. "It's best if a girl like you leaves a man like him alone." Now she was amping up the condescending tone. This was the entire point she had been getting at since the beginning of the conversation. "It takes a special kind of _woman_ to put a man like that in line. He knows that, I know that and I think you need to learn it too sweetheart."

AJ scowled. Of course it was a dig like that. Everyone just loved to talk about how much of a 'little girl' she was. They said she looked like a teenager, they said that she acted like a child…it was maddening. She took a threatening step towards Eve, who backed down. _It's all fun and games until the crazy chick wants to strike back…_The thought made her burst out in a fit of maniacal sounding laughter. Eve backed down even more, a fearful look crossing her face. That just made AJ laugh even harder and with a turn of her heel she skipped off, going right out the door and heading for Phil's rental car. If everyone wanted to harp on her being a little girl? Fine. She would just remind Phil that she was more than enough of a woman to keep up with someone like him.

…

Phil limped out the arena door slowly, his chest and back aching something fierce. He had been chopped, thrown around and stomped but he was still the champion, thanks to the lumberjacks getting out of control and getting in the ring to brawl with both him and Big Show. He had managed to slip out of the chaos and get away with his belt. Once backstage he had ditched Paul, telling him they would talk tomorrow. He hadn't said where he was going or what he was doing though he was sure the other man had an idea. It was something he'd hear about tomorrow but he'd worry about that then. His focus was on seeing just whether AJ was waiting for him or not.

Surprisingly (or then again, not so surprisingly) she was doing just that. She was sitting cross legged on the hood of his car, her head cocked to the side and one of her little deranged looks on her face. Phil raised his eyebrows and walked over to her, tilting his own head to the side as he leaned down to get in her face. "I knew you'd be here." He couldn't keep the smugness that was overtaking him. "So predictable."

The only response he got from her was her gaze getting even more crazy. It was almost unnerving. Phil's brow furrowed but instead of backing off like most would he tapped the side of her head not so gently. "Helloooo? You home in there? Whatever game you think you're playing-"

One hand gripped the back of his neck and she pulled him in for a rough kiss. Her teeth nipped at his roughly, drawing blood. She sucked it up eagerly as her other hand snaked down to his groin, rubbing his cock through his jeans. He groaned into her mouth and arched into her hand, his teeth latching on to her lip and biting her ever harder than she had bitten him. A small whimper escaped from her and she unbuttoned his jeans so she could slide her hand down and grip his length, stroking it until he was nearly ready to cum all over her hand. Then, as quickly as she had started, she let go. She smiled at him, looking oh so innocent as she rolled over the hood of the car and got into the passenger's seat. Dazed, aroused and confused, he just stood there for a moment until it sunk in that she was just leaving him high and dry. "What the HELL?" Opening the car door he leaned his head in and gave her a death glare. "What the HELL was that?"

"What?" she said, playing innocent. She crossed one leg over the other and rested her hands on her knee. "Aren't we going?"

"I can't even get in the CAR!" Phil practically growled. He was in such a state that he seriously doubted that he could do just that, let alone get them to the hotel.

"I guess not then." She flipped her head back and started humming to herself. The bitch. He wanted to strangle her. To keep himself from doing just that, he took a few minutes to try to bring himself back down before getting in the car and slamming the door shut as hard as he could. He hoped to startle her but she just looked at him, all doe eyed in response to the seething look he was giving her.

"Bitch," he finally muttered.

"Whore," she quipped back.

"You fucking…ugh." He started the car and tore out of the parking lot as fast as he could. It was going to be a long, LONG car ride.

...

They had barely gotten into the hotel room when AJ found herself being slammed into the wall rather violently. Her head bounced off the wall rather hard and her yelp of pain was silenced by his lips back on hers. His foot kicked their door shut behind them and his hands worked on her clothes. He got her jacket off at least somewhat dececently but he literally ripped her shirt off, causing all the buttons to fall to the floor and rendering the material useless. "I LIKED that shirt!" she complained.

He wasn't listening. He was working on her shorts so she started ripping at his clothes, trying to ruin of something of his like he had done to her. His hands were all over her, ripping away her bra and panties and tossing them across the room. He lifted her up and carried her to the bed. He dropped her down on it and climbed on top of her, his hands roughly holding her down when she tried to push him over so she could roll on top. "Don't even think about it."

"You're hurting me." No he wasn't but she used the statement to distract him just long enough for her to slip loose and roll herself on top. She grabbed his wrists and tried to pin them down above his head. He rolled himself back on top with a growl, one hand pinning both of her wrists above her head while the other slid down between them. Two of his long fingers slid inside her, making her moan and arch upwards.

"Hurting you my ass." He tugged on her lower lip with his teeth. His lips traveled from hers to her jaw and down her throat, his teeth biting twice for every kiss he gave her. His fingers continued to work her over, a third slipping in to make her gasp and roll her hips in time with them. Since she didn't have her hands free she gripped his boxers with her toes and yanked them down that way. "What are you, a monkey?" he asked almost incredulously.

"For your sake I better not be. Otherwise there's serious questions about your lifestyle choices you gotta ask yourself."

He gave her an irritated look for that comment. He slid his fingers out of her and ran them over his length before positioning himself between her legs and slamming inside of her.

"Fuck!" gasping she wrapped her arms around him, digging her nails into his back. His head was buried into her neck, his teeth digging into her sensitive flesh so hard she could feel herself bleeding. It hurt but it wasn't something she could really focus on. She could only focus on the feeling of him inside her, how hard and powerful each thrust was. She moaned his name loudly and threw her head back, exposing even more of his neck to him that he could bite. She dragged her nails from across his back and down his sides, keeping one at his chest to claw at and the other drifting between their bodies. Her fingertips barely had grazed her clit when he growled and yanked it away angrily.

"You're cumming just from _me_," he whispered in her ear. He bit her earlobe so hard she yelped and slapped him with her free hand. His face rocked from the blow but it didn't stop him. He just thrusted even harder, making her nearly scream. He slammed his lips on to hers to try to keep her only reasonably loud. His hand drifted down to where hers had been, rubbing her clit until her body hitched and she moaned his name incoherently. Her orgasm triggered his and he slammed into her one final time, dropping down on top of her and just resting there. They both panted for breath, their bodies shaky and coated with sweat.

"Phil…" Reaching up she petted the back of his neck, making him move his head up to look at her. Her eyes locked on his and for a moment she didn't see the angry, egotistical asshole that had been so intent on making her life difficult lately. She saw something softer, more akin to the man that had given a shit about her. The man that had cared and she thought could love her like nobody else had before. As quickly as that look appeared, he quickly shook his head and pulled away from her. He rolled off the bed and grabbed his clothes before going into the bathroom and shutting the door behind him. Not a word was said. AJ just laid there for a moment, the calm and initial happiness that had came transforming into anger and shame. Anger at him for the way he acted, anger at herself for holding on to a ghost that wasn't looking to return…she couldn't do this.

Moving off the bed, she started to get dress, nabbing one of his shirts because hers was ruined. She had nowhere else to really go but she still went out that door. As she left she almost thought she heard Phil say her name but she didn't see if that was the case. She just ran down the hall, down the stairs and out the lobby door, going off into the night.


	5. Chapter 5

Phil cringed as the door slammed shut behind the retreating AJ. Clad in only his boxers at this point, he almost dropped the jeans and went out after her. It would have been the right thing to do. Of course, that was probably why he didn't do it. He just let her go, letting out a long sigh as he threw his jeans back into the bathroom. He didn't even know where she was going. Was this even the hotel she was staying at? The next one that was even in the area was like three miles away. It wasn't exactly safe for her to be out wandering around. Maybe it sounded a little chauvinistic of him but he wasn't big on women he knew walking around alone at night. If a group of creeps wanted to do something…and AJ was only ninety five pounds soaking wet someone could just toss her around like a rag doll and that would be it.

_She left on her own though_, he told himself. _She don't want to be here. Not like I kicked her out…_

That was true. While he had taken off into the bathroom to have a minute, he hadn't forced her to leave. If he had felt like it he would have told her to call someone to pick her up. He wouldn't have just kicked her out. So her being out there alone was on her. That's what he told himself anyway. He told himself that over and over as he flopped down on the bed and put his arm over his eyes since he hadn't shut the light off. He didn't have to go after her. He shouldn't even want to. This had been it. He had to put her behind him. She complicated things in a way he didn't need them to be complicated. She and her crazy antics had not only overshadowed him back in the summer, but she could have cost him everything-still could if he didn't get her out of his head. He couldn't let that happen.

He took his arm off his face so he move and try to lay down more comfortably. He grabbed the blankets and pulled them over his head, resting on his side with both pillows tight in his grasp. He had to sleep. He closed his eyes and tried to rest. The mere seconds dragged by like minutes and all that occupied his mind was AJ. "Fuck me," he muttered under his breath. He threw the covers off his body and got up so he could get dressed. He had to go find AJ. He didn't know what he would do exactly when he found her or if he even would track her down but he had to try.

…

AJ plopped down on a bus stop bench and rested her elbows on her knees, burying her face into her hands. She had been so upset that she hadn't really paid attention to where she had been going. It was hard to bring herself to care. She felt so stupid. Why was it when she came to guys that she made choices that were bad for her? Her relationship with Bryan had really started the trend. She couldn't let him go and he had driven her batty according to many. She had thought Phil was different but clearly that wasn't the case. Men sucked. That was all there was to it. And she was sick and tired of being burned for it.

She took her phone out of her pocket and started to dial Kaitlyn's number when she stopped herself. She couldn't call her. Kaitlyn would want to know what had happened and and when she spilled the beans it would just cause a fight. That was the last thing she wanted to deal with at the moment. The question became though who could she call? She wasn't exactly rolling in friends at the moment. She had never fit in with the other girls in the locker room and even the ones she socialized with had been driven away by her "crazy" antics. She was pretty much on her own.

"AJ! AJ!"

The sound of a gruff, male voice made her perk her head right up. "Phil?" she said hopefully.

"No…" A large hand rested on her shoulder and she jumped up, turning around to see Kane standing behind her. "Sorry to disappoint."

She shook her head. She was disappointed and annoyed with herself for feeling that way. "What are you doing here?"

"Bryan and I are finding a hotel to stay at."

"You're going to stay in the same _room_?" she asked in disbelief.

"Not unless Dr. Shelby tells us to…" It was hard to tell whether he was joking or not. "What are _you_ doing out here?"

She shrugged her shoulders and looked down. She didn't exactly want to admit that she had nowhere else to go or a ride. She had made an idiot out of herself enough for one night. It wasn't something she wanted to repeat. Despite her silence though, Kane caught on to the gist of the situation. He sighed and wrapped his arm around her, pulling her in for a one armed hug.

"Come on. You can ride with us."

She nodded and gave him a grateful smile as she followed him to the car. He opened the back door for her and shut it behind her, which woke Daniel up from the nap he was taking. He yawned and glanced back at her, doing a double take when he realized just who she was.

"What is SHE doing here?" he asked Kane angrily.

"She needs a ride," Kane replied. He slammed his door shut and started the car back up, not even putting on his seatbelt as he drove off.

"A ride?" Daniel snorted loudly. "A ride to where? The mental institution?" He got a dirty look from AJ but he ignored it in favor of getting in Kane's face. "You can't be bringing my ex-girlfriend and your…whatever you two were in our car. Dr. Shelby said we had to trust each other. How can I trust you when you two are plotting against me?"

"Daniel-"

"Don't you think she's going to be sleeping in my room. I dumped that like a bad habit I-"

Kane grabbed Bryan by the beard and yanked on it hard, making him yelp in pain. "SHUT UP!" he snarled. "Just SHUT UP! I can't STAND you! If you open your mouth again so help me god I will rip your beard off your face AND BREAK YOUR LEGS SO I CAN RUN YOU OVER WITH THIS CAR!" He literally started screaming and AJ had to slap her hands over her ears so she wouldn't totally lose her hearing. She did giggle at the wide eyed, fearful look Bryan gave Kane and when he glanced back at her she blew him a kiss. Getting under his skin never got old and at this rate, it never would.

…

AJ and Phil spent the rest of the week avoiding each other as much as they could. It was hard when they were at the house shows but they both did their best. When they were forced together, unless it was out in the ring they avoided eye contact while stealing glances where they could. AJ caught a look on his face several times that seemed like he had something to say to her but she didn't try to push him on what it was. She knew that if she did he would just clam up on her. It probably wasn't worth hearing anyway. It wouldn't change anything.

It was a relief to go home for a couple of days and by Monday she was in relatively good spirits. Those spirits came crashing down though when she arrived at the arena for Raw. Hunter, Stephanie and some older guy she didn't know were all there waiting for her. "...Nobody died did they?" she asked as she came to a stop in front of them. She couldn't help but ask. The wary and somber looks they were giving her warranted the question. They were definitely afraid to tell her something, that was for sure.

"No," Stephanie assured her. She put her hand out for AJ to shake. "We just need to talk.

"Talk?" AJ nearly dropped her bags as she took Stephanie's hand. She couldn't help the sense of intimidation that went through her. She had grown up watching this woman on TV when she was a teenager. "Talk about what?"

"Let's go into my office," Hunter suggested. He took her bag from her and carried it as he led the way. Stephanie walked beside him, leaving AJ to follow with the old guy by her side. She eyed him warily, not caring for the almost condescending look he was giving her. She had no idea what this was all about but she could sense that it wasn't good. She thanked Hunter who held the door open for her and took one of the seats in front of the desk. The still unnamed man took the seat right next to her and Hunter and Stephanie walked around to the other side, Hunter taking a seat and Stephanie standing right next to him. "AJ we need to talk about what happened last week," he told her, getting right to business. "About what happened between you and Paul Heyman."

"Off the record, we think you should have hit him even harder," Stephanie interjected before he could say another word.

Hunter gave her a bit of an exasperated look.

"What?" she said innocently. "Let's not pretend we didn't enjoy seeing that."

AJ grinned. She sure as hell enjoyed hitting him. "I almost did the Shining Wizard on him. I kind of regret that I didn't."

"You're LUCKY you didn't," Hunter said a bit harshly. "Or we'd have a bigger problem." He sighed as she gave him a confused look. "Despite our uh, personal feelings on Heyman, you were given a decree by the Board of Directors. They told you that you couldn't touch any performer, be it wrestler, referee, manager-"

"He PROPOSED to me!" AJ objected. She honestly couldn't believe that she was getting in trouble for this of all things. "He had the audacity-"

"I know I know," Hunter said quickly. He put his hands up and tried to motion for her to lower her voice.

"-after Punk HUMILATED me in the middle of the ring-"

"We never said it was fair," Stephanie butted in. "The Board gave you an order and they wanted to suspend you for defying it." She put her hand up when AJ opened her mouth to blow her top. "BUT...Hunter and I talked to them and convinced them to put you on probation instead."

"There's a difference?" AJ asked. She sounded more indigiant than she should have considering that they had gone to bat for her but she couldn't help it. She was in trouble for something that she shouldn't have been, even considering the decree from the board. She didn't see why they couldn't make an exception. She slapped Paul Heyman of all people. Nobody besides Punk even liked him. Add in the circumstances of that situation and she found it totally bogus that they couldn't make an exception.

"Yes." If Stephanie and Hunter were choosing to ignore her tone. "Probation you get to stay on the job with uh...a coach." Stephanie waved a hand to the man sitting next to AJ. "AJ, I would like you to meet Christopher J. Stephenson. He's the coach that will be helping you out tonight."

AJ looked over at him, seeing that he was smiling and holding a hand out for her to shake. She looked back at Stephanie and Hunter, seeing that they were waiting to see what she would do. She took another look at the guy before just getting up and walking out of the room. She didn't even grab her bags she was so insulted. A coach? A coach to supervise her? Like she was THAT incompetent? She huffed and stormed down the hall, brushing past all the production people trying to stop her and ask questions. They thought she wasn't capable of running things? She'd show them then. She'd show them all.


	6. Chapter 6

Raw started out the way Phil thought it should: he and Heyman out in the ring, the spotlight on him. The crowd jeered at him, as usual but it didn't bother him. He made a huge name for himself by pissing people off; hell he sometimes managed it by just walking into the room. He was much more comfortable being hated than he was being loved. The crowd hated him even more by the time he was done talking about John Cena and Mick Foley. They weren't happy about him not accepting John Cena's challenge to have another match at Hell in a Cell. He didn't care though. He didn't see why he should have to face Cena yet again. He had beat him at Raw 1000, he had beat him in the triple threat match at Summerslam and he had walked out of Night of Champions as champion still because Cena had been too dumb to properly bridge up after a suplex and keep his own shoulders off the mat. Why should he give Cena another chance after that. It made no sense to him. It didn't suit his best interests. So no matter how many lead pipes Cena wanted to hit him with or how many speeches someone like Foley wanted to give him, he wasn't going to change his answer.

He handed Paul the microphone so Paul could turn the attention to what happened last week with them and AJ. He knew full well that Paul was not only smarting from that incident but wanted AJ put out of her GM job for it. Professionally speaking, Phil had to agree with him. They couldn't be having general managers that couldn't show restraint. Plus he knew that she could be quite vindictive and had and could put him in compromising positions. Of course, there was that little piece inside of him that was dying to tell Paul to shut up and leave her alone...he couldn't listen to that part of him though. This was business. AJ in power wasn't what was best for business. It was a fact that Paul had drilled into his head. Unless their relationship was actually going to work well...he supposed that if he wanted to, he could manipulate her into doing whatever he wanted. It wasn't a low he wanted to stoop to though. He knew how she felt about him and while there was stuff towards her he was repressing, what he had said back in July about caring too much about her to use her as a pawn still rang true. He had to reluctantly admit that to himself as he nodded along and played up to what Paul was saying.

"Now I'm not one to quote scripture." Paul reached into his suit and pulled out a piece of paper "But-" he paused long enough to unfold it "I hold in my hand a memo from the WWE board of directors. And it says-and I'm quoting this verbatim-'AJ Lee's actions have been inappropriate and sometimes juvenile. And she is not to put her hands on any superstar, manager or anyone else ever again'. Now what that means ladies and gentlemen, the WWE champion CM Punk and I concur with these opinions: that AJ Lee must now be removed by the board of directors as general manager of Monday Night Raw effective immediately."

The crowd started to boo and Phil knew AJ had to be fuming in the back. It was probably only a matter of time before she came out the situation escalated.

"No no no I know why you're booing!" Paul wasn't done talking yet. "You're booing because that leaves a huge power void here on Raw. Who would lead the flagship show for WWE? And the answer to that question is…me."

The fans liked that even less. Phil could only smirk as they kept booing.

"The one with all the experience as a general manager. The one that has negotiated contracts-"

"EXCUSE ME!"

Phil winced as Vickie's screech interrupted their proceedings. She and Dolph started coming down the ramp, Vickie babbling about how she and Dolph were the real victims of AJ's reign as general manager. Phil really didn't listen to all the specifics. It was Vickie why would he listen to her? He only tuned back in when the clip was replayed of AJ attacking Vickie in the ring a couple of months ago. Then he started to laugh. He couldn't help it. That had actually been hilarious.

"Excuse me…" Paul was trying to steer the segment back to their side, which was where it belonged. "When did this become about you? This is about the Best in the-"

"Excuse me!" Vickie snapped. "May I remind you that I'm THE Vickie Guerrero? And my client is Dolph Ziggler, who will be the future World Heavyweight champion."

_Yeah right…_ Phil thought to himself. He stared down Ziggler as Paul continued to speak. Ziggler eventually interrupted and suggested the bright idea of Vickie and Paul being co-general managers. Phil could only imagine the power struggle that would turn into. The idea didn't get to have much thought though, as AJ's music finally hit and she came skipping out to the ring. All eyes went on her-Phil's eyes in particular. While she looked relatively happy and carefree skipping around the ring, he could tell something was bothering her. He watched her grab a microphone and come into the ring, placing herself right in the middle of everything.

"Now I'm sure you'll all be happy to know that the WWE board of directors have placed me on probation." AJ had a hard time spitting that one out.

"Good," Phil said immediately. It slipped out and got him a little glare even though Dolph voiced his agreement and didn't get so much as a second glance.

"And yes, I knew that I wasn't supposed to touch another person," she was moving on without actually addressing Phil. "But I figured they would make an exception for a slimy…shady…greasy…CREEPY as all hell worm like excuse for a man like you!" She gave Paul a little look before turning away. "But they didn't. And so now I've been appointed an executive coach to help me in my development as the general manager of Raw."

There was a pause and then Daniel Bryan's music hit. "Is he your coach?" Phil asked immediately, unable to keep the hint of jealousy in his voice. How could Bryan be her coach? Bryan had turned into a nutcase himself how could he coach her in anything? Plus they were exes there had to be a rule against this. There had to be.

"NO!" Bryan was already starting this. "NO! STOP IT! STOP IT! I just came out here to apologize! STOP IT! NOOO!" The crowd kept going crazy and Bryan had to take a moment to regain his composure. "I came out here to apologize because it's obvious that AJ's mental issues have been compounded by the fact that I dumped her after Wrestlemania."

_Yeah this is all your fault,_ Phil thought to himself as he nodded along. If Bryan hadn't dumped her they would probably still be together. He wouldn't have gone near her and she wouldn't have gone near him…their entire relationship was Bryan's fault.

"And really AJ, I can't blame you. I mean, look at me! I'm one hell of a catch!"

Vickie looked disgusted. Dolph and Paul were just staring at Bryan. AJ actually looked amused though and Phil found himself scowling because of that.

"I AM HANDSOME!" Bryan was going into full ham mode. "I am a former world heavyweight champion! I have a great beard!" What that had to do with anything Phil didn't know. "And now I'm the tag team champions. I'M THE TAG TEAM CHAMPIONS!"

BOOM! Everyone but AJ jumped as Kane's pyro went off. Phil didn't know why they jumped because they knew where Bryan went, Kane wasn't far behind. He watched Kane come into the ring and take a microphone so he could stand right behind AJ. He scowled again, not liking how close the larger man was standing next to her. _Ugh, what am I doing?_ he asked himself. _Stop it don't think like this…_

"Everyone here has forgotten a very important fact about AJ Lee." Kane leaned down much in the way Phil did to her, though he didn't mean to intimidate her the way Phil did. "She is a phenomenal kisser!"

AJ's eyes widened and she bit her lip, looking quite pleased with herself. Bryan started yelling about how she wasn't and Phil just kept his comments to himself for once. It wasn't something that he couldn't actually deny.

"Now everything else Daniel Bryan said was true-with the exception of one thing." He raised his tag title belt up in the air. "I am the tag team champions!" They were back to this. "I am the tag team champions! I am the tag team champions!"

"I am the tag team champions!" Bryan got in Kane's face and started yelling back at him. As they went at it Phil found himself and Dolph joining in, Dolph screaming about being Mr. Money in the Bank and Phil yelling about being WWE champion. Immature? Yes but it was contagious.

"Stop it. Stop it. Stop it. Stop it. Stop it stop it STOP IT! STOP IT! STOP IT!" AJ took a huge gasp as her little fit got everyone to shut up. Phil blinked several times, startled by her outburst. She looked legit ready to strangle them all. It was a demented look level to the one that had been on her face the night she put him and Bryan through the table.

"This is MY show." She was firmly taking the reigns of the conversation and not letting them go. "And probation or not I'm still the general manager, so what I say goes." She made sure to give Phil a scathing look as she said that. "And what I say…" she stepped towards him, violating his personal space like he always did to her. He actually took a step back from him which only made her lean in even further. "…the WWE champion CM Punk…" she stepped away and went towards Ziggler "and the money in the bank winner Dolph Ziggler will face-" she turned around to face Bryan and Kane "the WWE tag team champions Team Hell No." Looking pleased with herself and the audience's response to her announcement, AJ skipped out of the ring, leaving everyone else to argue amongst themselves once more.

…

"This is ridiculous," Paul huffed. He was pacing behind Phil, who was stretching and trying to get ready for his match. He had already put his ring earlier, since he had been around long enough to know that starting the show cutting a promo could easily lead to an immediate match. Thankfully though, the match was the main event, as it should be. Cena wasn't going to be there tonight so his same old tired promos couldn't take it away from him. "This match is absolutely ridiculous. You can't trust Ziggler-"

"You can't trust anybody around here." Phil straightened himself up and cracked his neck. "I've beaten Bryan and Kane before. Ziggler I can deal with."

"You shouldn't even BE in this position," Paul insisted. "You're the champion. Not only that but the best in the world."

"I know. But unless you think you can talk AJ out of the match it's done." He went to grab his water bottle only to find that it was empty. "Shit I'll be back." He left Paul in the dressing room and started walking towards catering, which was where they kept all the water on ice. He was almost there when Miz and Wade Barrett came around the corner and not only blocked his way but were too immersed in their own conversation to notice.

"The little bitch couldn't even book me on the show," Barrett complained. "How incompetent can you get?"

"Did you say something to her?" Miz asked.

"Of course I did! Not that it did any good. She's too wrapped up in her own girlish issues to listen to reason."

"At least she's not running around making out with everyone," Miz joked.

Wade smirked. "She looked like she wanted a piece of YOU before. You get yourself any of that?"

Miz looked at him incredulously. "I have MARYSE waiting for me at home. You think I'm going to leave that for AJ?"

"I remember you looking mighty interested," Phil said, butting in on the conversation. "But even she wouldn't actually touch you. She's smarter than that."

Miz and Wade looked over at him, Miz looking offended and Wade just smirking. "Lookie here. It's one of the lover boys."

"Former lover boy," Phil corrected.

"I wouldn't say that by what I heard last week." Wade's smirk just got even bigger as Phil could only glare at him. "You two aren't as quiet as you think."

"I think you need to shut up," Phil warned.

"Why? You think you're the first one to make her scream like that?" Wade leaned in to whisper in Phil's ear. "I was making that little pocket rocket scream in ways that even you couldn't before she let the world know what a little slut she-"

The sentence didn't even get to be finished. The moment the s word was used Phil decked Wade, sending the larger man down to the ground. Miz let out a surprised yell and Wade looked completely caught off guard. "Fuck off," Phil growled. He kicked Wade in the ribs while he was down before storming off, too furious to even speak. He was disgusted with Wade and himself because he knew what that reaction he had given meant. He still cared about AJ. He cared more than he should and by the end of the night, with Miz's big mouth, the entire company would know. _Fuck me…_


	7. Chapter 7

The tag match went about as badly as one could expect. Phil found himself being taunted by AJ the entire time and not only did Paul get kicked out from ringside, but Dolph abandoned him to follow Vickie, leaving him to get a chokeslam from Kane and lose the match. He was backstage now, changing back into his street clothes. He had no idea where Paul was now. Last he had seen him he was arguing with Vickie about something. Phil had stayed around for two seconds of that before just leaving. Paul would catch up. He always did.

He finished getting dressed and was about to pick up his bag when his dressing room door opened. He looked up, expecting it to be Paul. It was AJ though and he immediately sneered. "What do you want?"

"We need to talk," she replied as she shut the door behind her.

"About what? Your taunting me out there tonight?"

"Try the topic of you decking Wade Barrett," she corrected.

"Oh." He cringed internally. He knew it would get back to her but he had still held on hope that it wouldn't.

"Nobody would tell me WHY," she snapped, restoring hope to him once more. "But Miz kept SMIRKING at me and told me I should come talk to you myself."

Phil vowed to himself to kill Miz right where he stood the next time he saw him. "It's none of your business. He's just being an idiot."

"I'm the GM-"

"A BAD GM."

She scowled at him. "Would you stop? Please? You CAN'T go around punching people!"

"He was being disrespectful."

"Oh Christ..." AJ threw her hands up in the air in exasperation. "So now you're punching people backstage for disrespecting you? Have you completely lost your mind?"

"You didn't hear what he said." The need to explain himself suddenly rose up in him though he didn't know why. It would be easier if she thought he kicked Wade's ass for an ego boost. She didn't have to know the truth...then again she would probably just find out anyway. Justbecause Miz sent her in here to put him in the position to confess didn't mean he hadn't told anybody else the real reason Wade had gotten decked. It would get to her one way or another. Maybe she would take it as locker room talk, or maybe she would take it as the truth.

"I don't care what he said," she snapped. She stepped right up to him, poking her finger into his chest. "I have half a mind to suspend you right now."

"You can't!" he shot back. "I'm your champion! You NEED me!"

"I could just strip you of the belt and crown a new champion. You're a spoke on the wheel buddy." She smirked as she used his own phrase back at him. "The wheel keeps turning."

"You wouldn't dare."

"Watch me."

He almost let her get out the door, not thinking she was serious. The moment her hand touched the doorknob though, he grabbed her by the arm and pulled her back.

"Ow!" she yelled, trying to get free. "Let go!"

"He disrespected YOU!" he growled, hating himself for admitting it. "Alright? I punched him for YOU!"

She gave him a look of disbelief. "You expect me to believe that?"

"Why else would Miz send you in here?" he asked. "Fucking little worm set me up for this." He let go of her arm and tried to shoo her away. "Now if you'll excuse me-"

"You punched him for me?" AJ's expression had softened and she sounded so touched.

"Don't make a big deal out of it," Phil said cooly. "It's not a big deal. It meant nothing."

"CLEARLY it did," she replied. She wasn't letting him get off so easy. "You wouldn't have hit him if there was nothing."

"He was being crude."

"Have you heard YOU talk?"

"Okay!" He threw his hands up in the air. "Fine. I hit him because I didn't like him calling you a slut. I admit it. But what good is it? We can't work. That's been proven."

"And who's fault was that?" Uh oh. AJ's eyes had narrowed angrily. Phil tried to take a step back but she was right on him. "YOU ran away from us! I was ready to give you EVERYTHING! I LOVED you! I still..." Her voice trailed off as she quickly looked away, trying to hide the tears that were forming in her eyes. "You just ran away from everything we could have been. And for what? Huh? What was the point of almost letting me in to just shove me back out?"

"Because you're not well!" Phil practically shouted. It was his turn to step forward now and he grabbed AJ's head with both hands as he did so. "I'm NOT good at these things to begin with and you're not any better off! Sometimes I couldn't tell if you actually cared about me or if you were doing anything to stick it to Bryan!"

"I'm OVER him!"

"Now? Maybe you are! A couple of months ago? You were sure back in his bed real quick that week your engagement lasted! And the ONLY reason you dumped him at the altar was because you saw him preparing to throw you in a god damn nuthouse! It took THAT to get you to leave him! You still cared about him even though he treated you like GARBAGE! Even when I-the guy you supposedly loved-was telling you that you were better than that you STILL threw away everything I said and went back to him!"

"I was HURTING you son of a bitch!" She was shouting now. Unbeknownst to them they were attracting quite the audience outside the locker room door. "You LEFT me! Your reject my proposal, you avoid me only to sleep with me right before Money in the Bank and then nothing. You didn't even TRY to talk me out of marrying Daniel. You were going to let me do it."

"What else was I supposed to do? You made your choice."

"No. You were just being an asshole and worrying more about facing Cena that next week. You'd sell your own soul down the river to get the best of him."

"I've gotten the best of him without doing that thank you very much."

"Clearly not if he's still the star of the show."

Phil glared at her, not wanting to get into the truth of that statement. "I'm leaving. I'm not doing this anymore." He took his bag and started heading for the door. He almost hand his hand on the doorknob when AJ grabbed his other arm and turned him back around. He opened his mouth to say something nasty but he was silenced by her closing the rest of the distance between them, her hand grabbing him by the back of his neck and pulling him down so she could kiss him. His eyes widened and he tried to push her back but she just jumped on him, wrapping her legs around his waist and her arms around his neck to hold herself up. He caved and kissed her back, turning them so he could push her against thedoor with a thud. The kisses got deeper though not as rough as the ones they had shared in their last encounter. They were actually gentle...caring...one might even say loving.

"Dude, I think they're about to do it!" Miz's voice broke the moment out of the blue.

"They're not about to do it!" Cody Rhodes hissed back. "Are they?"

"It's too quiet for them doing it!" Alicia Fox butted in.

"WHY do you three insist on eavesdropping on EVERYONE!" Damien Sandow scolded. "We are ADULTS!"

"But they're going to do it!" Miz shot back. "They-OW OW OW LET GO OF MY EAR!"

"Owww come on man!" Cody whined. "Let go of me I'll come peacefully!"

Phil and AJ looked at each other for the longest time, jaws dropped and a look of utter disbelief written on both their faces. Phil tried to form words but there were none to be had. Finally he gave up and just started laughing. Hard. so hard that he had to put AJ down and double over. She started to laugh as well, accidentally snorting in the process and making him laugh even harder. "I give up!" he finally managed to gasp out. "We're..." he wheezed and shook his head "we're surrounded by idiots."

"You're just figuring that out now?" AJ wiped the tears from her eyes and tried to force herself to stop laughing. "Oh god..." She shook her head and took a deep breath. "I can't even get mad. I can't."

"I can." Phil was killing all three of them if Sandow hadn't already done it. He took several deep breaths himself and finally got a hold of himself. "What um...what was the kiss for?"

"A thank you," AJ replied. "You know, for the whole defending my honor thing."

"Most people don't use their lips to say thank you. Or..." Phil frowned as he actually thought that one through. "I guess technically they do. But you know that wasn't what I meant. I was just-"

She rolled her eyes and kissed him again. "That's for being cute." She grinned at the look on his face and started to leave, but he pulled her back, kissing her because...well because he could. Only reason he could come up with. And for tonight it was fine. He didn't want her to leave and she got it without him having to say it. When they broke apart once again they didn't totally back off. They kept their foreheads pressed together and their hands clapsed, comfortable just staying that way. They were going to have to go out and catch his bus since it was waiting for him. Paul would have to be ditched too which wouldn't go over well but he would deal with that later. Right now, he was planning on enjoying the rest of his night.


	8. Chapter 8

The first thing AJ felt as she woke up was Phil's arms wrapped around her waist and him completely pressed up against her back. She had been snuggling up to him when they had fallen asleep but at some point in the night it had changed to this. It wasn't exactly the most comfortable of positions; her right arm was trapped underneath her and he was leaning on her bladder. She couldn't bring herself to move though. She could tell by his breathing that he was fast asleep. It wasn't something that came easy to him. The bags under his eyes, while partly just naturally there, were mostly from him never getting enough sleep. It seemed like ever since he became champion it had gotten worse. She had noticed that about him even before they had gotten together. So no she wasn't going to let herself get up yet and disturb him. She did shift slightly so the pressure on her bladder would ease up. There wasn't anything she could do about her arm though. Not without moving too much and disturbing him. So she stayed how she was, letting her arm fall asleep on her. Her other hand rested on top of his, her fingers rubbing lightly over him. He let out a low sigh and buried his face more into the back of her neck. She smiled. It was amazing just how sweet he was when he slept. Of course, he could be really sweet when he was awake too, but that only seemed to come when he wanted it to. It was like a light switch with him; he could be the world's funniest, sweetest man or the biggest jackass. It was hard to deal with because he seemed to switch between the two extremes with a drop of a hat. Of course, she could tell herself the nice one was the real him and the other was just a wall he put up but the truth was that both were a part of him. He never had claimed to be a nice guy. It would be an outright lie if he did. He could be one sure. To those he claimed as his friends and family. But he had that edge to him that was extremely hard to deal with.

Shaking her head, she pushed the thoughts out of her mind. Going over it all over and over again wasn't going to get her anywhere. What she needed to do was just enjoy this while she could. Their night had gone much nicer than their previous one together but she had no idea how long it was going to last. While they had acknowledged their past problems, they hadn't really talked about what could be done to fix them-if they would even try to do so. Or if they even could. What she wanted out of him was more than he had been willing to give the first time around. What would make now any different?

_"What are you looking at?" Phil had woken up to find AJ sitting cross legged on the bed, using his laptop to browse the internet. They had spent the night on his bus, which felt a tad bit awkward to her considering that the driver possibly heard what they had been doing. Phil had insisted that it wasn't a problem and she had let him talk her into it. It hadn't been as weird as she had thought but then again she had yet to come face to face with the driver again._

_"Houses," she replied. She scooted back over and turned the laptop so he could see the picture she was looking at. "See?"_

_Phil frowned. "They actually make houses with white picket fences?" He snorted loudly and shook his head. "How much more cliché can you get?"_

_"I like it," she said, which got her an exasperated look._

_"Really?"_

_"Yes Miz." She giggled as he playfully shoved her. "Come on, it's cute."_

_"Cliché."_

_"Nooo it's cute!" She elbowed him in the ribs. "White picket fence, two story house in suburbia, two kids in the yard with a dog…" she tucked a piece of her hair behind her ear and looked at him. "I could see us like that one day."_

_Phil blinked, his face going a bit blank at those words. AJ hardly noticed though. She was much more into the fantasy of her and Phil retiring off to suburbia one day. Humming under her breath, she went back to browsing through houses, looking to see if she could find one that was even more perfect than the one she had just looked at._

Phil yawned loudly and stretched, which allowed her to flip over on her other side and release her trapped arm. It was all numb and tingly and she started rubbing it to the get the feeling back into it. "What time is it?" he asked as he rubbed his eyes.

"Ummm..." AJ twisted her torso around so she could look back at the clock. "Nine thirty." She moved back towards him and rested her hand on his neck. "You don't have any interviews to do this morning do you?"

"In a couple of hours yeah," he replied. He yawned again and pushed her on her back so he could rest his head on her chest. "Wake me up when it's time to go."

She raised her eyebrows. "Since when did I become your alarm clock?"

"Since now."

"Oh. Well I'm glad that I got a say in the matter." She didn't actually mind. She wrapped her arms around him and kissed the top of his head. "You better actually get some sleep buster. Don't make my alarm clock ways be in vain."

"Mhmmm." She really was going to let him stay like that but then a thought popped up into her brain and she had to speak up.

"You need to eat breakfast."

"Ugh…" Phil groaned and shook his head. "Don't want breakfast."

"It's the most important meal of the day."

"Bullshit." He tilted his head back to look at her. "Breakfast is unnecessary." Almost as soon as he said that though his stomach growled loudly.

"Unnecessary my ass." She sat herself up despite his protests. "Come on. Let's get something to eat."

"No."

"Now Philip."

"No April."

She gave him an exasperated look and he gave her a tired grumpy look right back. They stared at each other for several minutes, both of them trying to win with their looks. When he showed no signs of getting up she smacked him in the chest and rolled out of bed. She was completely naked and he immediately tried to reach over and pull her back to bed. "Nooo no no no." She shook her head and stepped just out of his reach. "You're not getting any of this until you eat something."

"Oh for Christ's sake..." Phil sighed in defeat and got out of bed. "You're a pain in the ass you know that?"

"Mhm!" AJ started grabbing her clothes, finding them all minus one article. "Where are my panties..."

"You mean these?" Phil had slipped his boxers on already and was standing there, twirling her panties around in his hand.

"Gimmie." AJ reached over to grab them but he held them up out of her grasp.

"Nope." Smirking he dangled them around, admiring them from every angle. "If I'm going out to eat, you're going out with no panties." His smirk got even bigger when she tried to object. "My deal is non-negotiabale."

"Ugh." Huffing she started getting dressed, giving him a dirty look as she did so. "I'm gonna get you for this."

"Bring it on baby." He slipped on his jeans and stuffed her panties in his pocket. "Bring it on."

...

About twenty minutes later Phil and AJ ended up at IHOP. It was the closest place and who didn't love pancakes? They got themselves a little booth in the corner, happy that not only the place wasn't busy yet but the people that were there didn't seem to know who they were. "Could you imagine the reaction we'd get if fans saw us in here together?" she asked. She reached over and pulled her drink to her, playing with the straw a bit before taking a drink.

"Oh god…" Phil shook his head and rubbed the back of his neck. "Hopefully they'd be regular fans and not the fangirls."

"They ship us so at least they'd be supportive."

"Except for the ones that think they're dating me. They might punch you in your face."

AJ winced a bit at the thought. That hadn't been something that had crossed her mind. Bad thing was, she could really see it happening. She loved the fans; she really did. But there were some that were….well kind of interesting.

"Don't worry I wouldn't let them hit ya," Phil assured her. "You know, unless they kind of just came up and did it. Then they just wouldn't get away with it."

"You're a sweetheart." She wasn't being totally sarcastic with that. They were sitting across the table from each other and she reached out and rested her hand on top of his. He looked down at it, making a face that seemed like he was going to pull it away but then he kept it in place.

"Don't tell anybody. I got a reputation to maintain."

She rolled her eyes at him. "Because being known for a dick that openly proclaims to hate my guts is such a great thing."

"Oh come on." He let out an exasperated sigh. "I don't ever say that I hate you."

"You might as well," she grumbled.

"Can you just stop?" He took his hand away from her so he could pinch the bridge of his nose. "I don't want to fight, alright? Not right now."

She looked down for a second before redirecting her gaze right back at him. "What are we?" she asked bluntly. "What is this? What are we calling this?"

He blinked several times, taken aback by the line of questioning. "Do we have to call us anything?"

"I'd like to not play games," she replied curtly. "I've played enough of them with you to last a lifetime."

The point was taken but he could only shrug his shoulders. "I don't know alright? I don't know what to call...this..."

"Us."

"Whatever. Look..." he leaned forward so he could talk in a more hushed tone. "You're already on probation. You think fucking around with me is going to do you any favors?"

"Why does it even matter? I'm not the first person in charge to have a relationship with a superstar." Total truth right there. Teddy Long had been with Aksana, Eric Bischoff had made inappropriate passes at all the divas (according to what she had heard anyway) Stephanie and Triple H obviously had their thing, Vickie had married Edge, dated Dolph Ziggler and had an affair with Big Show...it seemed to be a given that this type of thing happened. Hell, she saw herself as less of a problem as say Vickie because she wasn't blatantly stacking the deck in Phil's favor.

"Yeah well clearly they have it out for you anyway," he pointed out. He leaned in even closer, leaving no room for anything other than direct eye contact. "I know how this system works. They'll use anything to screw you over if they can't control you." He poked her nose lightly and gave her a serious look. "You have to watch yourself."

AJ just looked at him, not so much listening to what he was saying than absorbing what he was doing. He was looking out for her. He was doing it in a way where he could try to deny what he was doing but he was still totally doing it. It made her smile and she kissed him, cutting him off from before he could say any more. She didn't need to hear it. Point was taken completely.


	9. Chapter 9

"Shit shit shit..." AJ muttered under her breath. She had arrived at the building to find out Vince McMahon himself was there. Now she was running around backstage, trying to make sure everything was perfect, which was horribly stressing to say the least. she hadn't even seen Phil yet. In their effort to keep a low profile, they had arrived seperately to all the arenas during the past week. She was sure they weren't fooling anyone but he was insisting on laying low. The way he was being about it was still sweet so she went along with it. He was probably right anyway. She was the GM now and with her being involved with him of all people would give others the idea that she was going to be giving him all kinds of advantages now. It wasn't what she was planning to do and them laying low and acting like they were still at odds on camera would hopefully put off any of those thoughts. Now though, she did want to find him. She couldn't really talk to anybody else. Kaitlyn had already left her messages that let her know she had heard about her and Phil starting back up again and she was not happy about it. A fight would be coming about that soon enough. She wasn't close enough to any of the other divas, Derrick was too close to Kaitlyn...there was Kane but that would probably just end up turning weird somehow. It didn't help that Bryan trailed him like a puppy dog these days just so they could fight about stuff. That was really annoying actually.

She rounded the corner, so consumed by everything on her mind that she didn't see who was in front of her until she walked right smack into him. "Fuck!" She jumped back so fast that she nearly fell down. Strong hands grabbed her arms and set her right back up. "Jesus..." she shook her head and actually looked up now, seeing that it was John Cena that she had run into. "Oh shit I'm sorry," she quickly apologized. "I'm so sorry."

"It's fine," he assured her. He made sure she was stable on her own two feet before moving his hands away. "I about knocked you over I should be asking if you're alright."

"I'm fine." It was her turn to make with the assuring. "I'm just a little uh-"

"Stressed?" he guessed. He patted her shoulder as she nodded. "I can't blame you. Tonight's the first time Vince has been here since he put you in charge."

"Yeah…" She glanced around, almost expecting him to be storming up the hallway at any minute. "Have you seen him yet?"

John nodded. "I saw him when I was coming in."

"How uh…how did he seem?" AJ had to ask. She along with everyone else knew Vince's usual temperament backstage. Nobody actually remembered ever seeing him in a good mood backstage in any kind of recent memory. He was always cranky and always terrorizing the backstage crew for something or other. She had tried to tell herself to not worry about it. She just needed to focus on doing her job and making sure everything ran smoothly. But that had all fallen south already and now she felt like her head was going to spin off and explode.

John cringed at the question. "Well uh…well he was fine to ME but uh-"

"Someone got fired didn't they?"

"More like demoted but you don't have anything to worry about. If he was on the warpath for you, he would have found you already."

"I'm surprised he hasn't already," she confessed. "Given that I kind of told my coach to shove it last week."

John grinned. "Actually I think Vince would most likely admire that."

"Really?"

"Mhm." He glanced back to the clock on the wall to see what time it was. "Look I gotta run but uh…you think we could sometime later? Over dinner or something?"

AJ blinked, completely taken aback by that sudden question. "Dinner?"

"Yeah. Business dinner," he clarified. He pointed to his elbow, which while not in a sling had some kind of cast thing over it. "I'm getting conflicting stories about how fast I'm going to heal up. One doctor says I'll be good in two, three weeks and another said six which kind of throws a wrench in any Hell in a Cell plans…"

"Ah." Confusion cleared. "Okay." She nodded and smiled at him. "We'll talk later."

"Thanks." He flashed her that sweet, trademark grin of his and walked off. She watched him go and then started to head on her way again, only to nearly run into someone else-this time Dolph Ziggler. "Jesus Christ…"

"So you and Cena are going to dinner huh?"

Her eyes narrowed. She didn't like the way he was leering at her at all. "I said we would TALK later," she clarified. "And if there is dinner it will be a BUSINESS dinner."

"Riiiiiight." Much to her displeasure he didn't wipe that damn look off his face. "Just like you're having all sorts of "business meetings" with Punk this past week." He made sure to use his fingers so he could make quotation marks as he said the words business meetings'. "I hope you one with Cena ends a lot more quietly than the ones with Punk. Some of us actually like not hearing you scream like a whore."

AJ scowled and nearly slapped the taste out of his mouth right then and there. She wanted to do it. She wanted to do it really really badly. But the edict from the Board still weighed on her mind and she forced herself not to do it. Instead she grinned at him, which immediately threw him off. "I wouldn't worry about what I'm doing at night," she informed him. "I'd be worried more about finding Alberto Del Rio."

"Oh yeah? And why's that?" he asked.

"Because you're now teaming up with him to take on Kane and Daniel Bryan." She smirked as he threw his hands up in exasperation. "Have fun buddy." She ducked around him and skipped off, more than pleased with herself. Maybe she couldn't do anything to him but having Kane chokeslam him through the mat was pretty much the next best thing.

…

"You seen Vince yet?" Phil asked Paul he stretched out on the floor. He had met up with the older man at the arena and while Paul had tried to grill him on what just had been going on between him and AJ this past week, Phil had avoided answering the question. He had told Paul things he shouldn't have before but he wasn't looking to do that now. He was trying not to be THAT guy. He couldn't admit to Paul that he still did care for AJ. That would only lead to a fight he wasn't in the mood to have. So instead of that he was just going to change the subject.

"Vince?" Heyman blinked, caught off guard by the sudden change in subject. "No. Not yet. I know he's going to be going out there soon to talk which I'm sure will be positively enlightening." His voice was just oozing with sarcasm there.

Phil smirked. Oh yeah. That was probably going to be all kinds of interesting. He was actually looking forward to that because he had every intention of going out there and crashing the segment. There wasn't any real reason other than the fact than he could do it. He loved pissing Vince off, especially in public. Maybe it wasn't great for long term employment but he didn't feel like he had anything to really lose. He wasn't intimidated by Vince. He didn't think for an instant that Vince would actually fire him. After all the trouble that was went through to get him to resign with the company last summer led him to believe that he was much more important than they wanted to admit.

A sudden knock on the door took them both by surprise. "Are you expecting someone?" Paul asked.

Phil shook his head. "I'm assuming you're not."

"No." Paul walked across the room and opened the door. Phil had assumed it was going to be Vince himself or someone along those lines. Much to his surprise, it was actually Kaitlyn of all people. "Can I help you?" Paul asked, almost looking uncertain about who she actually was.

Kaitlyn gave him a rather disgusted look before just walking in and looking Phil in his eyes. "We need to talk," she said bluntly.

"I'm sorry but the WWE champion has much MUCH more important things-"

"Paul it's fine." Phil got up to his feet and folded his arms over his chest. "Just give us a minute will ya?"

Paul did not look happy about it at all but he did what was asked. Kaitlyn watched him go like a hawk before whipping back around to face Phil. "Is this the part where you threaten bodily harm if I hurt AJ?" he asked. "Because being a brother myself I've given this speech a few times."

Kaitlyn smirked. "Actually…" she stepped forward and he thought she was just going to get in his face. What he didn't expect was her to rear her fist back and nail him right in the gut as hard as she could. And given that she was about as strong as Beth and Natalya, that wasn't something to sneeze at. The punch took the air out of him and he doubled over, wheezing as he tried to get it back. "That's for hurting AJ before," she informed him. "Next time I'm coming back with a shovel." Smiling brightly that eerily resembled AJ's own, she turned on her heel and walked out before Phil could even form a response.

"Jesus fucking hell…" he finally managed to mutter when he could breathe again. _At least now I know who to avoid if things go south with me and AJ again…_


	10. Chapter 10

AJ shifted around in her seat uncomfortably. Raw was over and she and Phil were driving to the hotel for the night. He was at the wheel, both hands gripping it tightly while his face was set in a scowl. The night hadn't exactly gone well for him. Not only had Vince put an ultimatum on him about choosing to face Ryback or John Cena in the upcoming hell in a cell match, but he had nearly gotten killed by a bunch of fans when he had gone out into the crowd. Security hadn't been in its proper place and things escalated to the point where he had ended up striking one of the fans multiple times. He had believed that the fan in question had shoved the back of his head but the fan was claiming that it had been a person behind him that had reached over his shoulder and done it. Whatever the case was, Vince and Hunter had reprimanded him and if the fan sued they were surely going to let him have it again. AJ had tried to intervene on his behalf but neither one of them had been that interested in listening to her. She wasn't sure if they knew the full details of her relationship with Phil but they certainly knew the rumors. And they certainly did know the feelings she had openly displayed for him back in the summer. That meant anything she said in his defense was written off by both of them, dismissing her as love struck and unreliable in her judgment. It put her in about as foul of a mood as he was in and it made for a really uncomfortable car ride.

Trying to break the silence she reached forward and turned on the radio. The first station set in that rental car was some really old bluegrass type country station. The sound of banjos made both of their noses wrinkle and they scrambled to change the channel. AJ hit a new button first and the sound of the Red Hot Chili Peppers replaced the country. "Yay or nay?" she asked. Usually she just kept it on whatever she wanted but he hadn't said a word since they had left the arena so she wanted to try to get something out of him.

"It's fine." The response was curt but at least it was actual words. Usually he just grunted when he was upset. Smiling softly in satisfaction AJ leaned back and the silence reigned again, a tad less uncomfortable than last time. She still wanted him to say something more though. She knew he wasn't mad at her but he still looked pissed as hell. "Do you want to talk about it?" She finally just came out and asked it. She couldn't take beating around the bush anymore.

A low grunt was all she got in response.

"Come on Phil. Don't do that." She turned the radio down and touched his arm gently. "We can talk about-"

"There's nothing to talk about," he snapped. He took his eyes off the road long enough to give her an annoyed look. "It's done. It happened, I'm fine beyond the potential lawsuit and I don't want to talk about it anymore. Just drop it."

"I just want to help…"

He opened his mouth to give what clearly was intended to be another snappish retort but stopped when he saw the kicked puppy look on her face. "AJ..." he forced himself to let out a long breath "just dropping it would help, okay? Not like talking about it is going to change anything."

She just nodded. He did have a point with that last part. And he was the type that tended to do better when things were dropped. She just couldn't help the feeling though that he was shutting her out by doing it. Stupid thought and one she couldn't let herself obsess over. Shaking it off, she turned her attention to her phone that was vibrating in her purse. She had a text from Cena, who was still pursuing the business dinner thing. She texted him back that they could meet up in a couple of nights. She wanted tonight with Phil and she had too many appearances the next day to squeeze it in. Out of the corner of her eye she saw Phil glancing over at her, trying to act like he wasn't attempting to spy on her when he thought she wasn't looking. "Nosy Nancy much?" she asked as she put it back in her purse. No way she was going to let him see who she was texting. Given the terms he and Cena were currently on there was no way he'd take it well. No matter how innocent Cena's intentions were, they would be twisted and used against him-and possibly even her. She didn't want that. She had just gotten him back she didn't want things ruined again.

"I thought the term was Negative Nancy?" The scowl he had been wearing the whole night was started to fade into the faintest hints of a smile. "what's this Nosy Nancy shit?"

"Negative Nancy's twin," she replied. She put her purse down on the floor and pulled her legs up so she could hug her knees to her chest. "Separated at birth so their respective parents had no idea they were giving the poor girls the same name."

"How were they separated at birth?" he asked. He veered off to the exit, confusing her because the sign near it gave no indication that there was a hotel anywhere near the area. "

"Phil?"

"We're making a quick stop," he told her. He slowed down, braking at an intersection that had a Dairy Queen across from it. Her face brightened, thinking that was the stop he was talking about. Alas it wasn't, and he turned left to head into the darkness and away from seemingly all civilization. She folded her arms over her chest and pouted but he only smirked. "We'll get some after," he promised.

"After what?" she asked. She had no idea what he was planning or where he was taking her. She unfolfed her arms and started peering out the window, trying to get a sense of where they were. All she could really see though was an open field and what seemed to be cows grazing on the grass. That was it. Nothing truly helpful. "Seriously where are you taking me?"

"If I said to the woods to kill you would you get mad?"

SMACK! A hard slap on his arm was what he got in response. He laughed, fending her off as she tried to smack him again. "Joke! It was a joke!" He winced as she caught his elbow really hard with her fist. "OW! JESUS would you calm down? You're going to make me wreck."

"You deserve it you jerk." Giving him one last smack, she folded her arms once more and turned her back to him as much as she could. It wasn't much considering she had her seatbelt on, but she did let out a loud huff so he would get the point. He didn't seem as phased by it as she was hoping he would be. In fact, he only laughed as he turned on to a dirt road and drove them down to a lake two miles upahead. He pulled up right in the grass and killed the lights, leaving the engine going for the time being. "Come here."

"Nope." Squirming around she tried to turn even more away from him. "I'm not talking to you."

"Come on..." He unbuckled his seatbelt and leaned over, resting one hand on her leg and kissing her cheek. "You can't stay mad." He kissed her cheek again. "Miss AJ." He kissed her again. "You know you can't." Another kiss. And another. And another. He kissed her fast and quick all over her face, not stopping until she laughed.

"Bastard..." shaking her head she turned back and let him capture her lips with his. He moved his hand off her leg to undo her seatbelt. As soon as she was free she launched herself on to his lap, straddling his groin happily. His head tilted back as they made out, their tongues sliding easily in and out of the other's mouth. Her arms snaked around his neck, her hips rolling in time with each slide of her tongue. They stayed that way for the longest time, just enjoying the kissing. His hands did slide underneath her shirt (his t-shirt of course; she was back to wearing the cut up shirts of his that she had been before) but they only rested on her back. There was no rush to rip each other's clothes off. That would come soon enough of course. But for the moment they just kept kissing, not stopping until their heads were nearly spinning from the lack of oxygen.

"Am I still a bastard?" he asked.

"Do I have to answer that?" she rested her forehead against his. She took deep breaths, trying to regroup so they could start up again. "You're my bastard though."

"Your bastard?" Smirking coyly, he moved his hands down from her back to over her ass. "Is that supposed to be a compliment?"

"Of course." She raised one hand and placed a single finger right between his eyes. The song on the radio now caught her attention and she began to sing along. "_So what'd you bring me down here for?_" She began to move her finger down across the bridge of his nose. "_If I was a man I'd make my move. If I was a blade I'd shave you smooth. If I was a judge I'd break the law. And if I was from Paris….if I was from Paris_" her finger came to a stop over his lips and she squealed as he tried to bite it. "Phil!"

"_I would say ooh la la la la la la la_," he sang back. He gave her ass a hard squeeze and resumed the kissing. She moaned into his mouth, her hips rolling as he squeezed her ass again. Their groins grinded together, sparking a carnal need in both of them. Her hands worked on removing his belt while her mind worked on a way to try to get her shorts off without breaking the position they were in. This was the reason why she needed to start wearing skirts…though in her defense she hadn't known they were going to be parking anywhere. He really needed to start telling her these kinds of things. It would make life easier for everyone.

"Come home with me."

The statement made her freeze in her tracks. "What?" She had heard him but she didn't believe it was really said.

"Come home with me," he repeated. He forced himself to stop kissing her so he could look her in the eye. "This weekend. Come with me instead."

"Really?" She was genuinely surprised by the offer. He hadn't taken her home before. Not even once. They had always just done their thing on the road and that had been that. Maybe this meant that he wanted more from them this time around. that or he just wanted even more sex. Either way, she was for the plan. "Okay." She nodded so fast that she nearly knocked her head into his nose as she did it. "I'll come."

"Good." Actually passing up the opportunity to make an innuendo, he kissed her again. His fingers gripped the edges of her shirt and she lifted her arms so it could be removed. He dropped it back behind his seat and kissed her once more. She tried to pull off his shirt but he wouldn't cooperate and lift his arms up like she had. He was too busy trying to take her bra off. Neither one of them noticed the flashing blue lights that had appeared behind the car. The lone figure in that car got out and walked around to the driver's side, tapping on the window and shining a flashlight directly into it. The light shined right in their eyes, making them both groan and raise their arms in surprise. "What the fuck man?" Phil growled and pressed the button for the window. "Mother fucker…"

"Phil…" AJ recovered from the flashlight to the eyes to finally see the police car behind them. She could only imagine the type of trouble he would get them into if he started mouthing off to a cop. She had heard all the stories of him and Kofi getting pulled over. She knew for a fact that it very rarely went well.

"Alright kids you...oh." The cop's eyes widened in surprise when he realized they weren't in fact horny teenagers like he clearly was expecting. "oh..."

"...Hi..." AJ felt her whole face turn bright red. Despite her bra not actually being off she felt as though it was. She hugged Phil tightly, using him to cover herself up. The cop's eyes did linger on her longer than what was really necessary. It didn't go unnoticed by Phil and with a growl he wrapped his arms around her and gave the officer a rather scathing look.

"Can I help you?"

The officer faltered, lowering his flashlight and stumbling over with what to say now. "You..." he looked back and forth between them. "You two are REALLY together?"

AJ put a hand over her mouth to try to hide her laughter. They had stumbled across a fan. Maybe they could get out of this without getting into trouble.

"Yeah," Phil answered gruffly. "What of it?" The undertone of "fuck off" got him a hard pinch on the side from AJ but he barely even reacted to it. He was too busy glaring at the cop.

"Look officer," AJ decided to take the wheel before a real blowup happened and they found themselves in the back of that police car "i know that we're technically not supposed to be parking out here-and believe me, we won't make a thing of it-but do you uh, think you could give us a little break?" She tilted her head slightly to the side and batted her eyes, giving him her most innocent and persuasive look. "We've got a long drive ahead of us this is the only break we get." Total bullshit since they were sleeping at a hotel but it wasn't like he would actually know any different.

The officer took a deep breath, a stern look on his face at first. AJ amped up her puppy dog look though and with a very long hesitation, he finally sighed and relaxed. "Wrap it up soon though, okay?"

"Yes sir." AJ saluted him and nudged Phil with her elbow. He gave her a quick look before losing the scowl and giving the cop a nod. The officer nodded back and took his leave, killing his flashing lights as he drove away. Phil and AJ both watched him go, waiting to make sure he actually left. Once the coast was clear AJ threw back her head and started laughing. She laughed so hard she inadvertently snorted, which made Phil start to laugh too. "Shut up!" She smacked him hard on the chest. "That's not funny!"

"Oh it is," he insisted. "It definitely is." He caught her wrist before she could hit him again and kissed her. "Now where were we?"

She smirked and pressed her forehead to his. "Do you REALLY want me to come home with you?"

He sighed loudly. "April…"

"Philip." She could play the full name game too.

"If I didn't want you I wouldn't have asked. You know that."

She nodded. "I just…I don't want you to change on me again. I want us to work."

"So we will." He laced his fingers with hers.

"You always said it wasn't that simple."

"Maybe I'm coming around." He shrugged his shoulders. "Let's just see where this goes, okay?"

In her mind, she quickly pictured the paths this could take. One was more realistic, where even if this weekend went well, his asshole ways would return and she would find herself in the situation that she had just been in before. The other path was a whirlwind; a fairy tale romance this time around, him proposing, them getting married on a beach, raising two kids and a dog somewhere…she wanted that all so bad. Maybe not the kids and the dog right away given their careers but eventually. If there was anything she wanted all that with come time for retirement it was him. "I love you," she declared. "Phil I-"

His only response was a long, hard kiss.


End file.
